Astrophysics & Astrophotography

Dr. Travis A. Rector

VLA Dish

This is one of the 27 antennas that make up the VLA. The VLA generates images by a technique called radio interferometry. By pointing the antennas at the same object and combining the radio signals that each antenna receives, an image can be synthesized. Each antenna has a dish that is 25 meters in diameter. To get a sense of how big they are, note the stairs underneath the dish. You can see how windy it is by looking at the grass in the bottom of the picture. The exact date of this image is unknown.